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NRHS music hits high notes at state

The New Richmond High School woodwind quartet of Grace McLean, Nevaeh Brewer, Eliana Fall and Julia Grabowski earned an exemplary2 rating at the state competition. Submitted photo

The New Richmond High School music department put together an outstanding lineup of musicians for its state competition at UW-Eau Claire and those students performed admirably.

The NRHS band had more than 60 students perform at state across 15 events. The woodwind choir, brass choir, percussion ensemble, and jazz band all received superior ratings. In addition, the jazz band received an "Exemplary Performance Recognition Award" for being the best in their performance site. A woodwind quartet received the same honor for their performance site. Those students are Grace McLean, Nevaeh Brewer, Eliana Fall, and Julia Grabowski.

The choir had 12 events head to state, with Parker Keilen receiving an "Exemplary Performance Recognition Award" for being the best in his performance site.

Back in April at the district solo/ensemble competition, the NRHS Music Department sent more than 100 students to perform, and a vast majority of the entries received top ratings. In addition, 27 of the events qualified for state competition based on their ratings and the difficulty of their music.

At the state competition at UW-Eau Claire the weekend of May 11-12, the band had more than 60 students perform at state across 15 events. The woodwind choir, brass choir, percussion ensemble, and jazz band all received superior ratings. In addition, the jazz band (exemplary1), a woodwind quartet (Grace McLean, Nevaeh Brewer, Eliana Fall, and Julia Grabowski: exemplary2) and a woodwind trio (Julia Miller, Morgan Meskill, and James Nysse: exemplary3) were nominated for an "Exemplary Performance Recognition Award" for being among the best in their performance site. Of those, the jazz ensemble and the woodwind quartet won the award.

The choir also had 12 events head to state, where all events received either superior or excellent ratings. Parker Keilen (exemplary4) and Tucker Hennlich (exemplary5) were nominated for the "Exemplary Performance Recognition Award" for their solo events, and Keilen went on to win the award.

New Richmond band director Matt Mealey said these were "fantastic results for NRHS, considering over 170 schools send their state-qualified entries to the festival at UW-Eau Claire."

Dave Newman has been the sports editor at the New Richmond News since 1988. He has covered the action in the Middle Border Conference, Dunn-St. Croix Conference and Big Rivers Conference for nearly 30 years.